Viet Nam

Abstract: Long time ago, Lat Ngone village had abundant water resources and forest. There are a lot of big trees and the climate was also regular change. Now water as well as climate are a lot different if compared to the past. Every year villagers have suffered seriously from climate change, some time we have floods and some time drought, it is irregular climate changed. Last year (2008), we had suffered from drought, around 2 ha of rice production area could not harvest.

As the report from United Nations, Vietnam with a 3,260 km coastline is one of the countries strongly affected by climate change. In particular, the central coastal provinces has been affected seriously. Thua Thien Hue is a coastal province, with many lagoons around. This is a place that suffered frequently by flood, storm, drought. Quang Ngan commune in particular and coastal areas in general has been affected by climate change such as storms, floods, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion ...

Climate change is one of the most serious challenges of this century. It is impacting people, animals, plants and natural environments – from the deepest ocean to the highest mountain.

Climate change can cause four risks:

1. A rise in global sea levels

As we know that the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam is one of the most affected countries by climate and potential sea level rise, I would like to share my field experience with Frontlines about the early impacts of sea level rise on the coastal communities in Tra Vinh province in the Mekong River Delta. In May 2007 I visited shrimp farmers in Duyen Hai district of Tra Vinh province. They reported that their shrimp farms have been affected negatively in recent years due to sudden high tides.